„Įveikiant traumines patirtis: dvasinių būtybių įsitraukimo atvejai krikščionybėje“ (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0116)
Postdoctoral fellowship programme. Research Council of Lithuania 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0116). 2021 – 2023.
Postdoctoral fellow dr. E. Liutkevičius, research supervisor prof. D. Brandišauskas
The objective of this ethnographic research project is to examine the relationship between human and spiritual beings within Christianity by studying how religious communities seek to heal people suffering from alcohol and drug abuse. The researcher will have a particular focus on the personal and social stages of trauma, along with the experienced healing strategies and practises. The researcher was alerted to the issue of religious rehabilitation during his previous research conducted among Ukrainian Baptists. From previously drug addicted believers he learned about their perception of the active role the Holy Spirit takes during the healing, just as he learned that they understood that Satan and demons often are involved. This not only affects their healing process, but spiritual beings start interacting and participating in people's day-today lives in such a way that this affects their perception of reality and the meaning they attribute to daily activities. The goal is to conduct an ethnographic research project within the discipline of Anthropology of Christianity, and investigate the interrelations between humans and spirits and how these are expressed during healing processes, that seek to help people recover from drug and alcohol abuse.